There are dozens if not hundreds of baitfish imitations out there.
One major problem I have seen in their design is that they are
lacking in a large profile and if they do have a large profile it usually
required half a chicken in doing so! As fly tyers we are very fortunate
today to have a vast amount of synthetic and natural materials to
experiment with. Some people feel that flies made with all natural
materials are superior to those made with synthetics and vice versa.
In my experiences I have found that a combination of both natural
and synthetic materials creates flies with the best profile, silhouette,
coloration, action and castability. Finding out which natural materials
blend readily with synthetics takes time and experimentation but adds
to the fun of creating your own flies.

A few years ago I met Rich Murphy of Umpqua Feather Merchants.
His patterns evolved around a synthetic pearly mylar tubing called
EZ body braid. By implementing a 'spreader' he designed flies with
huge profiles without added bulk. Over the past couple years I have
played with spreaders and have come up with my own creations.
I am absolutely sold on spreaders now and believe that used in
conjunction with the right materials that you will not be able to
beat the profile, cast ability, and life-like action that these style
flies produce.

Most of my baitfish patterns tyed with spreaders are tied with Success
Flies Kinky Fiber or Natural Yak hair. Both of these materials will
not retain water and used in conjunction with a spreader you can
create a very large profile with very little material. Natural Yak-hair
also has a light cream translucent hue that when used along with
neutral polar flash and crystal flash creates the sides of just about
any baitfish out there. Some of the Yak I use is hard to come by
due to its fine silky feel and finer diameter, Kinky Fiber seems to
fill this void and is readily available. You can match the intended
baitfish by starting your patterns with this formula and adding different
layers of colorations and flash on top. The flies are relatively easy
to tie and are fairly foul proof. One thing you must do is choose a
hook with a short shank and large gap. Trey Combs Big Game hooks
are my chosen weapons but they are pricey. Live eel hooks can be
substituted but just make sure you bend the offset inline with the shank.

I chose Kinky Fiber to tie this particular Buffy due to it's readily
availableness. This fly has been extremely effective for me and
others I have tied it for. It works great in the outer surf where a
larger fly is more readily seen than an epoxy or clouser. I hope
you give this fly a try and that it helps you slay a few bass.

Materials

Hook: Trey Combs Big Game Hook. Size 2/0-8/0.

Thread: Larva Lace clear nylon thread.

Tail: Light pink bucktail. 3 strands of light pink crystal flash.

Spreader: Spreader: Light pink corsair tubing.

Belly: White craft fur or Polar Fiber extended beyond bend.

Lower Wing: Fine natural yak hair or Success Flies Kinky Fiber.

Mid Wing: Lavender Craft Fur or Polar Fiber.

Upper Wing: Olive Craft Fur topped with longer olive Streamer Hair.

Mid Body Flash: Neutral Polar Flash, Neutral crystal flash.

Upper Body Flash: 3 strands of light purple crystal flash.

Topping: Peacock Rainbow thread or natural peacock swords.

Upper topping: Black Angel hair.

Gill Effect: Hot Pink Diamond hair.

Eyes: silver mylar covered with clear epoxy or goop.

Tying Steps:

1. Secure hook in vise and secure thread midway along the shank.
Tie in a pinch of light pink bucktail and top with 3 strands of light
pink crystal flash. Fold the flash at the 45% mark around your thread
and cinch down on top of bucktail. Nearly all the materials are tied
around the thread and cinched down for this will keep the materials
from being pulled out when finished. Synthetic materials do not
compress the way natural materials do and have a slick finish so
get in the habit of tying your flash in by folding around the thread.

2. Cut a 1-1.5 inch piece of corsair tubing. For this demonstration
I used ½ inch Corsair. Take the nylon polyester stitching out of it. This
will enable you to work the tubing to the required shape. Slip tubing
over shank and tie in. Work your way up towards the head so there is
about ¼" of shank showing just behind the eye. Half hitch several times
and tie off. Coat with a dab of Zap a Gap.

3. Push the corsair tubing back over itself in the way you would
turn a sock inside out. Push it back far enough so that the tubing is
doubled over enough to make a head that will be big enough to
secure your eyes too. Once you have it back where it is supposed
to be, take your thumb and index finger and squeeze the tubing
together while at the same time pulling up on the tubing. You want
the spreader to be more on top of the hook than below it to keep
the gap wide for hook sets. Keep holding it with your thumb and
index finger and take your thread and hold it in your mouth and
pull your bobbin out and around the tubing. Keep holding the tubing
while you tie in down. Once the thread is set let go of the tag end in
your mouth and continue wrapping up towards the nose of the
spreader. Pull the tubing to the side, which will allow the eye to
pop through and cut off excess tubing. You can use a soldering
iron and melt it off if you choose. Be careful where you place your
iron for there any many flammable materials and solvents around
most fly tiers benches.

4. Cut a pinch of white Craft Fur or Polarfibre and secure to the
underside of the hook. Make sure it's long enough to extend a ways
past the bend to reduce fouling.

5. Take 5-10 strands of Kinky Fiber and stagger the ends. Wrap it
around the thread at the 45% mark. You will want the fibers to extend
2-4 inches beyond the bend depending on what size you are tying.
Once its wrapped around the thread cinch it down just behind the
eye so that the fibers flare upward over the spread.

6. Repeat the above procedure until you have secured the Kinky Fiber
around the spreader in a 180-degree pattern. This usually takes 4-6
pinches. Remember, you do not need more than 5-10 fibers for each
step. Keeping the fly sparse is what makes it work so well!

7. Cut 2 strands of neutral Polar Flash secure in same fashion as
you did the yak until you have covered all 180 degrees. Flash put
in this manner works itself into the body material and interacts with
the Yak to give the impression of realism. Once you are finished
with the Polar Flash secure neutral crystal flash same as above.
Take a pocket comb and comb the body to blend the materials.
At this point your eyes should start to light up as you see how the
flash interacts in conjunction with the Kinky Fiber.

8. Cut a pinch of lavender Craft Fur or Polarfibre and cinch down
on top. Top with 3 strands of light purple crystal flash. Make a half
hitch to keep head from unraveling.

9. Cut a pinch of olive Craft Fur and cinch down. Top with a longer
pinch of olive Streamer Hair. The shorter Craft Fur helps push up the
Streamer Hair to give you a larger profile. Add 10 strands of peacock
Crystal Flash or peacock herls. Top with a pinch of black Angel hair
tyed around the thread like we did in the previous steps. The Angel
Hair helps to keep the flash and or peacock in shape along the top
of the fly and also adds an added flash appeal.

10. Pull just a few wisps of pink Diamond Hair or Angel Hair out of
the package. Wrap around the thread and secure to the side of the head.
This will give the fly a bleeding gill look. A few strands of red fishair
can be substituted. Repeat procedure on the other side of fly.

Whip finish and tie off. Take your pocket comb and comb out the
whole fly. Run the materials between your fingers to blend. Take a
dab of goop and secure correct size mylar eyes. You want the eyes
to be set on the sides of the spreader. Lightly get both eyes set and
then squeeze together with thumb and forefinger. Stroke materials
back and alternate between stroking and pinching until eyes set up.

Coat head and front of eyes with 5-minute epoxy.

Fishing Buffy:

The beauty of buffy is in how she swims. The fly is very sparse but with a big
profile with lots of flash. Her construction allows her to breathe and
pulsate in the water unlike a heavier dressed fly of this size. I mainly
use mine in the outer surf where a larger fly is easier for the fish to
target on. This fly has become the favorite of many surf flyfishermen the
last year. We have had people tie it and use it for Pike in Colorado and
swear by it's results. It is fished like any other large baitfish streamer.
A strip and pause or hand over hand retrieve. It also will catch offshore
species like albacore and tuna. ~ Jeff Smith

About Jeff Smith:

Jeff lives in Wellfleet, MA and is a wade guide and has a popular
saltwater flyfishing website. You
will find other interesting saltwater flies there as well.